


Bound to Obey and Serve

by jane_fucking_seymour



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: the other queens show up as well but this is mainly about Seymour and Boleyn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 07:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19058209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_fucking_seymour/pseuds/jane_fucking_seymour
Summary: Jane Seymour was not who she made herself to be in the modern era. Anne Boleyn knew that quite personally.A few weeks into their return to the world, Anne holds Jane accountable for her role in Anne's downfall - and her untimely death.





	1. Chapter 1

It had only been a month and a half since they all returned.

It had been a long month and a half, but through some major fights, strongly-worded discussions and quite a lot of therapy, the girls had started to settle into their roles and work together instead of the constant bickering that started when they first appeared.

One of the major friendships formed was Boleyn and Howard - the two had been practically inseparable after the first week of chaos. At first, it was a mutual understanding due to their family relationship as well as their cause of death. But then, they just… gelled. Soon Kat was more than her cousin she never really met, but her best friend. They’d hang out as much as they could, causing all sorts of (harmless) chaos and generally being one of the closest duo’s of the group.

Currently, the only relationship that rivaled theirs in the closeness category was Howard and Jane.

Try as Boleyn might, she couldn’t help Howard through panic attacks as much as she’d like. Often times, she felt herself going into panic mode when she tried - so much so that she’d have to leave the room. When that happened, Howard was instead comforted by Jane instead of Boleyn. Even outside of that, when it was Boleyn with the panic attack incoming, Howard would also end up in pretty dire straights. While Parr helped with Anne, Kat would be left to Jane. It was what helped kick off that… “friendship” of theirs.

It’s a “friendship” in quotes because Anne’s pretty sure that’s not where it’s headed. Instead, it felt like Kat was the child and Jane the mother in the relationship; not that Boleyn blamed Kat for wanting some parental figure. After everything that she had learned happened, Anne had to admit it was a relief that Kat was reaching out for help like that. It was part of the healing process, the therapist had said, and Jane was more than happy to be a support system for Kat that was going to be there for Howard like the parental figure she had needed all her life.

Boleyn had just wished it was anyone but Jane fucking Seymour.

Seymour and Boleyn had a history - it was Jane’s political game that earned her the crown, yes, but also Boleyn’s head on the block. Seymour was a sore spot for Anne - she was the one that was always seen as the good one, or the kind one, or the one he loved, or the boring one - all of which, Anne knew, were lies. Jane wasn’t any of those things.

Jane Seymour was a manipulator, the best in the house. She had started out harmless enough in the court, but by the time Seymour was done, she had cemented her place in history as the best of the wives while Boleyn had been cast aside as the villain, washed away from history as the witch.

Generally speaking, Anne thought she could at least handle Jane now. She didn’t like her, but she could tolerate her, seeing as there wasn’t a guy to steal. But now, seeing Katherine getting so close to her… Anne had to say something. She had to make sure that Kat wasn’t going to get hurt by this… this monster.

It started after she saw Jane and Katherine cuddled up on the couch for the twelth time that week - and it was Wednesday.

Yep, that’s enough.

“Hey, Kat,” Boleyn says with a bright smile and a wave. Kat smiled back before nuzzling more into Jane. Jane looked up and gave her a nod, nothing more.

“Jane,” Anne says simply. “I think I have something of yours in my room, but it’s too big to move,” she moves towards the hallway. “Can you take a look?”

“Oh?” Jane asks, tilting her head. She untangles herself from Kat, who stays on the couch and just cuddles up to the pillow instead, wanting to be lazy on this no-show day. “Of course, let me see.”

Jane wandered into the room, a bit concerned, but trusting of Anne as the woman closed the door. “What was the thing you wanted to show me-” Jane starts, turning around. She’s stopped, though, by a monstrous glare from Boleyn.

“I don’t know what your plan is with her,” Anne growls out, voice low and threatening. It’s the most furious Jane has seen her since… since that day, with Henry, back in their old lives. “But you’re going to cut it out.”

“Cut what out?” Jane asks, tilting her head. “You’re not making a lot of sense-”

“I remember.” Anne says simply, as a way of explanation. When Jane says nothing, she scoffs. “What, do you think I honestly wouldn’t remember you? I know Kitty claims she doesn’t remember a lot from her life, but we both know that’s bullshit.” She moves straight up to Jane.

“You really don’t think I’d forget the person who practically sentenced me to death, do you?”

Jane looks unphased. “I didn’t have anything to do with that-”

“Oh, but Janey, you did,” Boleyn says. “You’re the reason he wanted me gone. You’re the one who weaseled your way into his heart, in his bed…” she reaches up and takes the locket that Jane wore on her neck before pulling it, snapping the chain with a seemingly practiced yank. Jane flinches at it, but says nothing. “... right on his lap. Remember?”

Jane studies her for a moment. Anne’s studying the locket. To everyone else, she looks like she’s just staring at it. But Jane knows her - possibly more than anyone else knows her - and she knows Jane’s gotten to her without meaning to.

Back then, she would have counted that as a victory. Now, she just feels sick.

“I’m different from then,” Jane tries. Anne laughs right in her face.

“You’re joking, you really think that’ll work on me? After everything?” she throws the necklace at Jane’s face. It falls to the floor. “Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic- look, I don’t care if you fool everyone else. As a matter of fact, I know you won’t, they’re all incredibly brilliant women, even Aragon.” she looks Jane dead in the eye. “The only one I care about is Katherine. If you think you can do… whatever it is you want to do, beheading will be the least of your concerns.”

Jane hasn’t really reacted to anything that Boleyn has said. She just sighs and shakes her head.

“I know I have a lot to prove-” she starts, but she stops when Boleyn gets even closer. Jane winces; she thought she was about to get slapped.

“Is that your play again? Really? The sweet, submissive, Jane Seymour?” Again, Boleyn laughs. “That won’t work twice, sweetheart.”

“You don’t believe me, I know.” Jane tries again. “And I don’t blame you. But I swear, Anne… this is a second chance for all of us. I know what I did - I was very aware when I did it, you know that.” She looks down. “I just… I want to be better. I want to make it up to you. And I promise you,” Jane looked her in the eyes. “I promise. I’m not planning anything. Kitty needs someone to look after her - someone who can help her, that much is clear. She’s seemed to trust me on it, and I won’t fail her.”

Boleyn studies the other woman’s face carefully, eyes narrowing as she tries to figure out Jane’s play. She seems sincere.

It infuriates Anne.

“Whatever,” she says dismissively, though she keeps Jane’s gaze. “I’ll just be there to pick up the pieces this time, because clearly you’re hell bent on something.” she moves towards the door, gets to the handle, then turns back to face Jane.

“I have yet to see you do any good in this world, Seymour. In this life, or any other.”

With that, she leaves, slamming the door behind her.

Jane takes a deep breath, sagging slightly as she leans against the wall. A hand goes to run through her hair, closing her eyes. She knew this wouldn’t be easy for any of them, but especially in repairing her relationship with Boleyn. She knew exactly what she had been doing when she jumped into the campaign for the crown; hell, she orchestrated the majority of it.

Had she felt bad for Boleyn’s execution? Yes. That’s why she helped get Elizabeth and Mary back into the line of succession, tried to make amends with them. It had worked, and - wether Boleyn liked it or not - Seymour was a pretty big part of why they were ever Queens to start with.

Did she want that to happen to the girl? Absolutely not, she just wanted Anne gone; the Aragon treatment, as it were. She had never thought it would have ended with a (admittedly) brilliant woman dead, a child without a mother and blood on her hands.

But did that matter? Did the fact that she didn’t know this was going to happen, that her plan had gone too well, that Henry had gone off the deep end and she couldn’t possibly have seen this coming… did any of that matter in the end?

Looking back at the door, Jane was inclined to say “no.”

Boleyn took a moment to calm herself in the hallway. Her fists clenched up and she gritted her teeth. Aragon might be the most common to do it, but Seymour had and always will have ways to get under her skin. It’s just how this is going to go, she realizes, hands now shaking with how tight she’s squeezing them into fists.

“Annie?”

Anne looked over to find Katherine there, looking very concerned. Anne’s gaze softened then; out of everyone, it was Katherine that Anne felt the closest to, her baby cousin that had been given the same fate as her. True, they didn’t hang out a lot back then, but they had made up for a lot of lost time in the short period they’ve been in the modern era for.

“Listen,” Anne says quietly. “I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to, Kitty. I refuse to. So whatever you do with… Seymour… is on you.” she looks Kat in the eye. “But you should know, all she did to me… she’s part of the reason why I died the way I did, Kit. She’s a master manipulator and she knows how to worm her way in for the most possible damage.”

“She’s been really kind since she’s been here,” Kat says, trying to weakly argue in Jane’s defense. “She’s been nothing but good-”

Anne shakes her head; she’s heard that before. It just means that Jane has a hook in Kat a bit deeper than Anne thought.

“Which is what she was when she was my lady in waiting,” Anne pointed out. “Look, I’m not going to convince you of anything because she’s good at making people see things differently. The damn girl… if you want her as some sort of weird parental figure, go for it. I will still be here for you, Kat, no matter what.” she turns from her so Kat can’t see the tears starting to form.

“I’ll even be here for you when she shows her true colors.”

She walks away, down the hall and towards the living room.

It takes a few seconds, but Jane opens the door cautiously, almost running into Kat in the process. Kat hasn’t moved from the spot, just staring down the hall.

The two catch each other’s eye and Jane tries to give her a comforting smile. Kat just gives her a small nod, no smile attached, and walks away.

Jane watches her leave and the small smile fades. With a sigh and a shake of her head, she simply retreats back into her room.

Her locket stays on the floor, discarded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katherine is curious and Aragon is surprisingly protective.

The next day, Jane had gone about her normal routine, the incident from the day before behind her. She always had a knack to keep things close to her chest or just let them go; it was a strength back then and it continued to be one now.

She stops for a moment when she hears Kat and Boleyn chatting happily about some meme or whatever as they move down the stairs towards the kitchen. Jane smiled, putting the last of the pancakes on the plate and putting it on the table.

“Here you girls go,” Seymour said, smiling brightly at them. “Eggs are already out.”

“Thanks, Jane,” Kat says with a bright smile as she goes to take some. Boleyn stares at the food for a moment before she just walks away and towards the living room.

Still, Jane keeps up appearances for Howard’s sake.

Seymour keeps herself out of the way for the rest of the day, only really interacting with anyone when absolutely necessary.

She’s just about to go into her room to get ready for the show that night when she feels a gentle tap on her shoulder. There, behind her, is Katherine Howard.

“Oh, hello, sweetheart,” Jane says with a smile. “Something I can help you with?”

“Yeah, uhm…” Kat looks nervous and Jane already knows what’s about to happen. “Can I talk to you? In your room, somewhere private, I dunno-”

“Of course, Kat,” she says with a nod, dropping everything to go with the girl to the room. Jane sits on her bed, full attention on Kat. Kat just stares at her for the moment, so Jane decides to prod her a bit: “What would you like to talk about?”

Kat bites her lip nervously before she starts:

“I just… Anne, she wants me to… well, she didn’t actually order me or anything, she wouldn’t do that and she can’t do that, but she had suggested… well, more like recommended, really, but not forcing or anything, like I said-”

“Love, you’re rambling,” Seymour quips with a small chuckle. It’s not quite right in the situation, she finds, so she goes back to being serious.

“This is about Anne, right?”

Kat nods.

“And she doesn’t want us to be friends or anything.”

Another nod.

“But you feel differently?”

“I don’t have all the information, I don’t think,” Howard replies, sitting next to Jane. “She says you’re a bad person, but… you’ve been nothing but kind. And you’ve helped me and the rest of the girls, Anne included. But I… if there’s a proper reason, I don’t want to make Anne uncomfortable.”

“I see,” Jane replies quietly. “So… have you gotten her side of the story yet?”

“Yeah,” Kat nods. “I would like to hear yours now.”

“Ask away.”

“So… what did you do, exactly? I know you were the wife after her, you took Henry from her, and you’ve got either a glowing reputation or a boring one.”

Jane makes a playful face at that. “Rude.”

Kat smiles for a moment. “You know what I mean.”

Jane shakes her head fondly before she starts. “I wanted the crown, so I got the crown. It was a bit too easy, to be honest; all I had to do was play nice, be exactly what Anne wasn’t. She was outspoken, I was quiet. She was defiant, I was submissive. She would speak against him, I gave in to his every whim.” She runs a hand through her hair.

“And.. Henry liked that?” Kat asks. “Because of how you were acting?”

“Basically,” Jane replies. “I used what attracted him to Anne against her. And it worked well… a bit too well.”

“Did you know about what he was going to do?” Kat asks.

Jane pauses.

“I… I heard whispers. He never discussed that with me. He just said he would take care of Anne. I thought he meant exile. I didn’t… I didn’t think he would go that far.”

“But eventually, you had to of heard about it,” Kat presses. “Could you have stopped it? If you asked?”

Jane is quiet, considering.

“I…” She swallows hard. “I don’t know. But I… I knew defying him on that - a literal death order - it wouldn’t have-“ She sighs. “It wouldn’t have served my interests, if I’m being totally honest.”

“Served your interests?!?” Kat asks, voice rising. She seems offended by that answer.

“Kat, you need to understand. If I had spoken out against it, if I had said anything… there was no guarantee he wouldn’t have traded her life for mine. He could have made up the same charges he gave Anne and charged me with a little time and creativity. I wasn’t going to risk it then. I had what I came for, I wasn’t going to give it up.”

She can’t look at Katherine. She’s too ashamed.

“I should have said something. I know. But… there was just too much at stake, and to be honest, I probably found out a bit too late to stop him, anyways.” She looks up at Howard then. “You, out of everyone, should know about his one-track mind. He was always like that, even then.”

“There’s just… you loved him, right?” Kat asks softly. “Even after that, you loved him?”

Jane sits back, considering.

“... yes. Even after that, even when I knew the charges were fake, even when I knew that he was sentencing a woman to death for being outspoken and not giving him a son… I still loved him.”

Jane gently grabs Katherine’s hand.

“I know what this sounds like. I do. I… I regret the past, Kat, I swear it. I want to do better, I CAN do better, and I want to prove that to both of you.”

Kat looks Jane in the eyes. Jane’s as serious as she ever has been. There’s a moment before Kat shakes her head.

“... that’s a lot easier to say,” Kat mumbles, pulling her hands away, “when you got the better end of the deal and 400+ years of distance.”

“I know.”

“Anne said I shouldn’t trust you.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“You’re not exactly proving her wrong here.”

“I’m telling you the truth here, Kat. Everything, all on the line. I think you deserve the truth.” She sighs. “Whatever you decide, Kat, you’re still important to me and this little group we have. I promised you I would protect you. I’m doing that now.”

Kat watches Jane calmly, searching her face before she slowly nods.

“I’m gonna go hang out with Anne,” Kat says gently, standing up. “I’ll… I need some time to process this.”

“Of course,” Jane says with a nod. “Take your time, sweetheart. You know where to find me.”

Kat nods, turning and walking off. Jane shakes her head after a moment and looks down at her hands.

“I don’t quite understand what you’re doing, if I’m being totally honest.”

Jane looked up to find Aragon there. Jane couldn’t help but relax a bit; surely Aragon would be a bit kinder to her.

“Anne isn’t over what happened,” Jane replies. “And Katherine wants us to be able to be civil towards each other. Can’t do that if both of them don’t know the truth.”

“You could have at least made your story a bit more sympathetic to you,” Aragon remarks. “Unless you’re trying to lose them for good.”

The statement makes Jane’s heart sink like a stone. She looks back down.

“No,” Jane says simply. “I’m done with the lies, or the half-truths. I left that all behind when I came back. If this whole thing is going to work, I need to tell them the truth. It’s just like you and Boleyn-“

“It’s not, actually,” Aragon is quick to interrupt. “Boleyn and I might not like each other - we might be rivals, to a degree - but there’s a mutual respect for each other. Sure, she stole my crown and my husband after 24 years of marriage, and sure, she was quite the little bitch back then to me, but her actions didn’t help me get executed. Yours, on the other hand…”

“Aragon, I didn’t know, I couldn’t have known,” Jane replies. “And besides, you’re somewhat to blame as well.”

There’s a moment of pause. When she does speak, Aragon sounds like she’s holding back fury.

“Excuse me?”

Jane doesn’t let down.

“He didn’t want another you. He saw how people reacted to your story and knew he couldn’t keep Boleyn alive because of it. Your actions, like mine, unintentionally had an effect on this.”

Aragon watches her for a moment, absolutely bewildered. Then, she has to laugh.

“Boleyn was right about you,after all,” Jane realizes she’s made a very big mistake. “I am not responsible for how Henry reacted to my people’s reaction to me.”

“I know-“ Jane tries to backtrack, but Aragon is marching right up to her, furious.

“You better listen to me, and listen well. You got Boleyn killed. You have no right, whatsoever, to even be a little defensive about this. I was long gone by then, how dare you even consider me as bad as you were to her.”

“I didn’t say that-” Jane says, frustrated at how badly a turn the conversation went. Aragon holds up her hand.

“Stop. I don’t want to hear it,” she says, moving towards the door. “If that’s how you’re going to defend yourself, then you probably shouldn’t even bother.”

“Aragon-” Jane starts, but Catherine’s already left.

The woman is fuming as she moves through the hallways, deep in thought. How dare Seymour even consider her on the same level as her for Boleyn’s issues. If anything, Boleyn should be apologizing to Aragon, not the other way around-

Her thoughts stop, though, when she bangs into someone.

“Oh, sorry-” she starts, but then her gaze softens when she realizes who it is. “Parr.”

“Hey,” Parr says, nodding at her. “Are you alright?”

“I am,” Aragon replies. “I’m not letting her get to me, that’s all.”

“Seymour, right?” Parr asks, tilting her head. “I heard a bit about it from Boleyn downstairs.” She frowns, looking at Jane’s door.

“... I could try talking to her,” Parr offers. “Maybe she just needs someone a bit more removed from the situation… at least, when it comes to Boleyn herself.”

Aragon frowns at that; Elizabeth was a sore spot for Parr, she knew that, but Boleyn herself… there wasn’t a lot that Parr knew about outside of the obvious.

“If you want to talk to her, that’s up to you,” Aragon replies rather dismissively. “I refuse to take part in her little game until she decides to actually own up to it… maybe even apologize to Boleyn for it.”

With that, Aragon leaves Parr by herself in the hallway to head downstairs to the kitchen. She goes to make a cup of tea when there’s a gentle poke on her shoulder. She turns to find Boleyn herself there, looking a bit ashamed.

“... thank you,” Boleyn mumbles.

Aragon looks her over for a moment before she nods. “I know we don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, Boleyn,” Aragon says. “But… you didn’t deserve what happened. You didn’t deserve that at all.” she looks back up the stairs just in time to see Parr walk forward and towards Jane’s room. She sighs.

“I don’t know if this is something we can all get over, but I’m on your side on this one, at least-”

She’s stopped, however, when Boleyn goes for a hug. Aragon doesn’t have the heart to refuse her.


End file.
